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It would appear the 24 hour compulsion society is catching up to us....especially in the transportation industry. According to a News-Medical.Net story, the transportation industry has a large number of exhausted professionals. According to the article:
14% of truck drivers say they had a "near miss" due to sleepiness
on top of that about one fourth of all truck drivers claim that they do not have enough time for the necessary amount of sleep. The article went on to give tips on how to improve your sleep but I was not really satisfied with this as the only solution. Yes, sleep tips are great. Yes, more naps and routine sleep scheduling will help us solve the immediate problem of a truck driver staying awake during a long haul.
It does not really solve the root cause of why truckers, and according to the article, pilots (terrifying), train operators, bus drivers and taxi drivers are exhausted. The pace of business, the demand for everything right now, and the level of competition for employment is driving transportation professionals to work harder and harder.
No one forces themselves to stay on the road after they are exhausted by choice. I doubt any driver set out with the intention of falling asleep on the road. They stayed on the road because they have too. People put themselves on this work treadmill because society demands they do.
The real problem is we need to look at the impact the recession treadmill is having on everyone. The constant pressure of a shrinking economy is driving all of us to push ourselves past our limit. That is where we need to focus if we are going to remove exhausted drivers from the road.
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